Igor Novaković convicted over procurement at Niš-based “Jugoistok”

Category: Money and deals

Period: from Aug 2013

Outcome: Guilty verdict (as of 11 Mar 2026)

Igor Novaković, a Niš official of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and former director of Jugoistok, the Niš branch of the state power utility EPS, received a final conviction on 11 March 2026 and a sentence of one year and six months in prison for abuse of office, after a trial that lasted more than ten years. At his arrest in 2015, the police minister said a private company had gained about 30 million dinars; Novaković denied the charges. Aleksandar Vučić had already pardoned him on 27 September, so the sentence will not be enforced unless he commits a new offence within five years; the public only learned of this on 3 November.

“Jugoistok” director and arrest

Igor Novaković, a Niš official of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), was director of Jugoistok, the Niš branch of the state power utility EPS, from November 2012 to March 2014.

He was arrested in January 2015, along with five other people from Niš, on suspicion that in August 2013 he halted a public procurement and hired CIM Group without a tender, and that he then allegedly took part in siphoning off money through two shell companies; the police minister said a private company had gained about 30 million dinars. Novaković denied the charges.

Hiring at the SNS's request

In September 2015, according to N1, Novaković said that as director he had hired a number of people at the request of SNS officials.

Ten years on trial

The trial lasted more than ten years. The first verdict, from January 2023, was overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2024. At the retrial, the Higher Court in Niš again sentenced Novaković to one year and six months in prison, while the other defendants from the private sector had already been acquitted.

On 11 March 2026, the Court of Appeal in Niš upheld the conviction with a final judgment, imposing the same sentence and a five-year ban on managing the funds of public enterprises and institutions. Novaković was then Speaker of the Assembly of the City of Niš, elected on the list of the SNS-led coalition. He resigned after the verdict.

Arrest warrant after the pardon

On 20 October 2026, the Basic Court in Niš ordered the police to issue a warrant for Novaković. Only on 3 November did the Higher Court in Niš announce that Aleksandar Vučić had granted his petition back on 27 September, as one of the 49 pardons before his resignation: the sentence will not be served if he commits no new criminal offence within five years.

Participants

Igor Novaković: Given a final conviction for abuse of office as director of “Jugoistok”, and pardoned before serving his sentence (responsible)
Aleksandar Vučić: He pardoned Novaković for abuse of office six months after the final verdict; the public only learned of it on 3 November (responsible)
“Jugoistok” Niš company: Injured company; the court first ordered Novaković to pay its legal successor 18,163,302 dinars, then referred the claim to civil proceedings (harmed)
Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia: It arrested Novaković and five other people from Niš in January 2015, according to the minister over a deal worth about 30 million dinars (investigation and courts)
Higher Court in Niš: It twice sentenced Novaković to a year and six months in prison; on 3 November 2026 it announced that he had been pardoned (investigation and courts)
Court of Appeal in Niš: It overturned the first verdict against Novaković in 2024, and on 11 March 2026 handed him a final sentence of a year and six months in prison (investigation and courts)
Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Niš: Appealed the second first-instance verdict against Novaković; the Court of Appeal partly upheld its appeal (investigation and courts)
Basic Court in Niš: On 20 October 2026 ordered the police to issue an arrest warrant for Novaković, who had already been pardoned on 27 September (investigation and courts)